Final score: 2 6

Anaheim wins series 4-1 to clinch first ever Stanley Cup!

Congratulations to the Anaheim Ducks on winning the franchise’s first ever Stanley Cup by wrapping up this series in style: By dominating an overmatched opponent in the Ottawa Senators to improve to a remarkable 8-0 in playoff clinchers in their history. They also raised their home record in the Cup Final to a perfect 6-0. Not too shabby.

So, what happened here? Pretty much the same thing that took place for most of this series. As it turned out, Randy Carlyle’s club just had too much physicality and grit for ex GM/coach Bryan Murray’s Sens. The Ducks’ plan of going after Ottawa’s D with an aggressive forecheck worked perfectly. In particular, they pounded Wade Redden and forced him into several bad turnovers. The key Ottawa puckmoving defenseman never looked comfortable during this series rushing several passes and blowing a few coverages which led directly to goals against.

Along with Redden never looking in synch, top pivot Jason Spezza did absolutely nothing thanks in large part to the effective work of the Sami Pahlsson checking line flanked by Rob Niedermayer and Travis Moen. But also, considering the dynamic young forward couldn’t produce more than a couple of secondary assists and no goals, you have to wonder about his battle level. He was too easily taken out of this series as was linemate Dany Heatley, who scored his only goal in a 3-2 Game 4 loss and was only effective in that one.

That’s why the Ducks skated away with the Cup so easily Wednesday night- delivering the first ever Cup to the state of California.

Only one team had ever rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win a Cup and it was way back in 1942 when the Maple Leafs turned the trick against the Red Wings.

In order for the Senators to have had any chance, they needed a much better start than they had. Instead of coming out quickly and taking it to the Ducks, they lost their discipline resulting in the game’s first goal by Andy McDonald just as a five-on-three expired.

After defenseman Tom Preissing went to the box for interference, Anton Volchenkov complicated matters by hooking a Duck with 15 seconds left on the original penalty. They paid the ultimate price when Ryan Getzlaf worked the puck to McDonald at the right circle, who wisely fired a quick wrister which surprised Ray Emery going through the wickets at 3:41 before a raucous crowd. It was McDonald’s fourth goal in the last three games.

Much of the rest of the opening period was a defensive battle as each team struggled to get shots through. In fact, they combined for only eight total shots with Anaheim holding a 5-3 edge.

The Sens did get a couple of opportunities on the power play to tie it. However, they had no success coming close just once with a narrow miss from in tight. It would comeback to haunt them. Seconds after Corey Perry got out of the box, he made a great play by kicking a loose puck to teammate Rob Niedermayer, who then outskated the Sens down the right wing before flipping a backhand which trickled off Emery’s pad into the net for a two-goal lead at 17:41.

It was the second goal of the stanza which the Ottawa netminder would’ve loved to have back which explains what kind of night it was. Entering the game, the second-year goalie had been rock solid in the series despite the 3-1 hole. He just never got much support.

For most of the second, it looked like the two goals would be plenty given how well Anaheim was playing defensively. But Ottawa finally brokethrough thanks to their captain Daniel Alfredsson, who took a nice one-touch Peter Schaefer pass in the slot and wristed one past the outstretched glove of Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

The goal sliced the deficit in half with 8:33 left and energized his team. They started taking the play finally to Anaheim by putting together a couple of inspired shifts. Before they could get the game tied, a boneheaded play turned into a backbreaker. Maybe it was more stunning than boneheaded depending on how you viewed it.

With the puck behind his own net, defenseman Chris Phillips was pressured by Rob Niedermayer into a hockey cardinal sin. He accidentally carried the puck and lost control of it off the back of Emery’s skate for a shocking gift. Travis Moen got credit for the unassisted tally at 15:44 to restore a two-goal lead. As it turned out, it wound up being the Cup deciding goal.

Less than two minutes later, Alfredsson made it interesting again with an awesome individual effort to score an unassisted shorthanded goal. He streaked down the right wing and blasted one top shelf to cut it to 3-2 with 2:22 left. It was his fourth goal in the last three games and playoff-leading 14th.

You would’ve thought that would’ve been enough to inspire his team. However, during the same penalty kill, they allowed a crushing power play goal to Anaheim defenseman Francois Beauchemin only 50 seconds later. Beauchemin took a quick McDonald drop pass and slapped one which beat Emery through traffic to give them a 4-2 lead headed to the locker room just 20 minutes away from their ultimate destiny.

If there was ever any doubt, Moen put it to rest when he neatly deflected home captain Scott Niedermayer’s point shot for his second of the night off a Pahlsson faceoff win to make it 5-2 at 4:01 of the third.

Over three minutes later with Anaheim on a PP, Antoine Vermette made a great defensive play at his own blueline to get in on Giguere shorthanded before being taken down drawing a penalty shot. On it, he tried to go to the backhand on a deke but lost control of the puck in tight pushing it wide- slapping it against the boards in complete frustration. Could you blame him?

The Sens mounted no other threats as the Niedermayer-led Ducks played splendid defensive hockey not much different from the surprising Conn Smythe winner’s former team in New Jersey. They allowed only 13 Senator shots to get through, making Giguere’s night fairly routine with just a paltry 11 saves.

Another Ottawa turnover led to the exclamation point from Perry. Rushed by a forechecking Ryan Getzlaf, Alfredsson tried a dangerous pass in front of his own net to Volchenkov but it was a little off allowing Perry to step into a rocket for his sixth of the postseason. It was the Ducks’ third unassisted goal of the night.

As time wound down, an emotional Teemu Selanne cried tears of joy. The 36 year-old Finnish Flash had waited 15 years for this moment. One one of the game’s great finishers and perennial good guys won’t soon forget as he lifted the Cup. It was just very nice to see his reaction along with many of his teammates who had never tasted the champagne before aside from their captain.

But maybe the best moment was older brother handing the Cup to younger bro as Scott handed it to Rob to start off a hockey tradition. How often do you get to win such a unique trophy with your own flesh n’ blood? It’s about as cool as it gets.

And believe us. Rob had plenty to do with why his team came out on top. You even could’ve made a case for the other Niedermayer taking home the Conn Smythe trophy for playoff MVP because he along with his checking linemates were that good.

Instead, his gray bearded older brother who finished with 11 points (3-8-11) this postseason. So what was the reaction to becoming just the ninth defenseman to win the prestigious award and being able to hand the Cup to his brother? Here’s what the affable 33 year-old four-time Cup winner had to say:

“I was a little surprised. We had a handful of candidates. I was out there trying to do my thing, whether it was playing good solid defense, blocking a shot, helping out on offense. I’m thankful I was out there to help the team and not really thinking about an award like this.“

“You don’t really dream of passing it to your brother. I never have. To be able to do that is definitely a highlight of my career. … He’s one of the assistant captains, maybe not quite the seniority, but I figured I’d use my rank as captain to make that decision. I thought it would be pretty special to be able to do that.“

It sure was. His very excited brother certainly returned the favor offering high praise:

“He’s won so much, but he’s never been a guy who’s ever rubbed it in a guy’s face. He’s been rooting for me my whole career, and I’m just lucky to have him as a brother. … When he passed me the Cup like that, it was unbelievable. I don’t think I’ll ever have a better feeling than that in my career. When he came here, I know he turned down a lot from New Jersey and he had a lot of fond memories there.“   :) 

Just wonderful stuff from the pair who became the first brother duo to lift the trophy since Brent and Duane Sutter accomplished it with the 1983 Islanders. Not bad company!

Congrats to the Niedermayers, Selanne and the entire Anaheim organization on winning it all. They proved to be the best team in this postseason, finishing an impressive 16-5.

The scary aspect is that they should have most of their core intact. The biggest question is whether Selanne will retire or stick around? He scored 48 goals and played the game at a very high level. The good news for the Ducks is that kids such as Getzlaf, Perry and Dustin Penner will only get better which is bad news for the rest of the league. Just wait till Bobby Ryan gets there.

Will Giguere be back? That remains in limbo as the former Conn Smythe winner can become a UFA in less than a month. He should be in high demand after another great playoffs. If not, Ilya Bryzgalov would take over in net.

We’ll see.

For Ottawa, it’s back to the drawing board. They had a wonderful run but ran into a machine. Some of their key players as noted above fell short in terms of the yeoman effort needed to win the Cup. Hopefully, they’ll learn from this and be back. But the competition promises to be very tough with the Penguins, Sabres, Rangers and Devils all looking to be in the mix next season.

Here are our final thoughts:

1.There were only 31 total shots in Game 5 with Anaheim outshooting Ottawa 18-13. 31 shots and eight goals including 6-for-18 that went in for the opportunistic Ducks. Very odd.

2.All three of Anaheim’s penalties came in the first as they silenced Ottawa’s PP which was blanketed. The Ducks meanwhile connected twice in six tries despite giving up Alfredsson’s shorthanded goal.

3.A strong case could’ve been made for McDonald for the Smythe as the dimunitive playmaking center was terrific in this series finishing with five points (3-2-5) in his last two games. He got half his goals (10) and points (14) in this series finishing an impressive 5-2-7.

4.Two other worthy candidates were Pahlsson and Rob Niedermayer, who along with Moen teamed up to stifle opponents all throughout their run. Against the Ducks, Niedermayer finished with a goal, two assists and a plus-four rating while Pahlsson was 1-1-2 and an identical plus-four. Their underrated linemate Moen notched three goals in the series and finished plus-three, meaning that the shutdown trio combined for five goals, three assists for eight points and an impressive plus-11 while limiting Spezza and Heatley to three total points and a combined minus-five rating- forcing Murray to shift Alfredsson to the Mike Fisher line. In fact, Spezza only registered a pathetic five shots the entire series.

So how did the Anaheim shutdown line finish this postseason?

Niedermayer: 5-5-10, +9

Pahlsson:      3-9-12 +10

Moen:           7-5-12  +5 

Total: 15 goals, 19 assists, 34 points, +24 

Looking at what they did, it seems odd that Scott Niedermayer won. I would’ve given it to either Rob Niedermayer or Pahlsson, who took many key draws and won a bunch.

5.In defeat Fisher notched an assist on Alfredsson’s first goal of the night. The two-way pivot had a solid series finishing with two goals and two assists for four points. Though he did finish minus-two, he was one of Ottawa’s most effective forwards at even strength and competed extremely well. Spezza could learn a lot from his gritty teammate.

6.With three helpers in the series, Selanne quietly wound up with 15 points (5-10-15) this postseason. He was especially clutch in the Ducks’ comeback against Detroit totaling all six of his points in the final three games- all wins. In fact, nine of his 15 points came in the final 8 games. He certainly fit in well with McDonald and Chris Kunitz, who returned from an injury tonight to skate with the Cup.

7.Two other solid performers were Getzlaf (2-2-4) and Perry (2-4-6) but it was Perry who finished with points in his last three and got better. Along with Game 4 hero Dustin Penner (1-2-3), the young trio was extremely effective this postseason:

Perry:     6-9-15   +5

Getzlaf:  7-10-17  +1

Penner:  3-5-8      +4

Total: 16 goals, 24 assists, 40 points +10
8.The Sens did win the physical battle according to the stats, outhitting the Ducks 33-23 including a game high six from Fisher while the trio of Getzlaf, Scott Niedermayer and Pahlsson paced Anaheim with three each.

9.One of the reasons not many shots were taken was the amount of turnovers in this game which meant a lot of neutral zone play and made for an ugly game.

Takeaways/Giveaways

Ott: 6/25     -19

Ana: 10/20   -10 

10.The other reason the Sens couldn’t get shots through. The Ducks blocked 16 including a game best five from a returning Chris Pronger. The Sens got in the path of 10 but none came from Volchenkov who wasn’t as effective the last two games.

Missed shots:

Ott: 16 BS + 16 MS = 32

Ana: 10 BS + 6 MS = 16 

Game 5 Note: Ottawa only had 13 shots which got through. 

Here are our three stars:

3rd star- Rob Niedermayer (goal, 2 hits, 2 takeaways, +3 rating in 18:18)
2nd star- Sami Pahlsson (assist, 4 SOG, 3 hits, 11-8 draws, +3 rating in 17:44)
1st star- Travis Moen (2 goals on 2 SOG, 100 pct., +2 rating in 17:50)

Conn Smythe Winner- Sami Pahlsson

This concludes our 2007 exclusive NHL playoff coverage. We hope you enjoyed it and wish your teams plenty of luck this offseason.

Enjoy the summer! 

Tonight, the Anaheim Ducks look to win their first ever Stanley Cup when they play host to the Ottawa Senators in Game 5 from The Pond.

The question is how will the Sens respond down 3-1? Will they fight a la Edmonton last year, who eventually forced a deciding Game 7 before falling to Carolina? We’ll see.

History certainly isn’t on Ottawa’s side. Only the 1942 Maple Leafs rallied from this deficit to win the Cup. So are the Sens capable? Certainly. But they’ll need a much better effort from Jason Spezza and Wade Redden to have a chance to force a Game Six back in Ottawa.

Aside from the big game, there was some not so surprising news coming from Long Island about the Islanders finally coming to their collective senses and buying out failure Alexei Yashin. It will cost club owner Charles Wang more than $17 million. Though the captain helped get the Isles to four postseasons in the last five years, he never showed the leadership necessary to lift his team past the first round:

TONIGHT’S SCHEDULE (all times ET)
Game 5: Senators at Ducks, 8 p.m. on NBC, CBC, RDS, NHL RADIO (ANA leads series 3-1)

THE TOP STORIES

DUCKS LOOKING TO CAPTAIN FOR CUP-RAISING VICTORY
Rich Hammond writes in the LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS, “One victory away from their hockey dream, 19 players will follow one teammate tonight, the gray-beard Duck who has lifted the Stanley Cup three times and doesn’t flinch in the face of pressure. Scott Niedermayer approaches a playoff game the way a gardener approaches a weed-pulling job. He grimaces a bit, shrugs a lot and just wants to finish the task. Maybe when it’s done, he will allow himself a small smile of satisfaction, and that moment could come tonight after Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals. One more victory and the Ducks will eliminate the Ottawa Senators and bring the Cup to California for the first time. If it happens at Honda Center tonight, Niedermayer, the captain, will lift the Cup first.”

SENATORS NEED TO SHAKE OFF TIGHT GAME JINX
David Naylor writes in the GLOBE AND MAIL, “The Ottawa Senators devoted an awful lot of time and attention this season to being prepared for the tight, low-scoring games that are so common during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Yet it is exactly those kinds of games that have them down 3-1 heading into tonight’s fifth and potentially deciding game in Anaheim. ‘That was the thing that was really good for us in the second half of the year, in early rounds, if we were even or down a goal going into the third period, we felt we were in pretty good shape,’ Ottawa coach Bryan Murray said. Ottawa’s 0-3 record in one-goal games during the Stanley Cup final brings back ghosts of problems the Senators faced last season and much of the early part of this one.”

SENATORS LOOKING FOR THEIR OWN DON METZ
Roy MacGregor writes in the GLOBE AND MAIL, “There are a number of names on the nightly ’scratches’ - players eligible to play but not dressed - the Ottawa Senators hand to the official scorer. But nowhere is Don Metz to be found. Metz, of course, would be 91 now if he were still playing, but if some modern equivalent of the sleek and slim winger from Wilcox, Sask., could lace them up for tonight’s fifth game of the Stanley Cup final, there might be a chance. Metz, history will show, did not dress for the first three games of the 1942 Stanley Cup final. His Toronto Maple Leafs were down three games to none against the powerful Detroit Red Wings and seemed almost certain to be swept in four.”

SECOND CONN SMYTHE IN GIGUERE’S FUTURE?
Elliott Teaford writes in the LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS, “Last time, he took them within a game of the Stanley Cup championship. This time, they have taken him within a game of Lord Stanley’s mug. Last time, tears rolled down his cheeks after the New Jersey Devils defeated the Ducks in Game 7 of the Finals at East Rutherford, N.J. This time, what could be the decisive Game 5 is at the Honda Center. Last time, goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere skated away with the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the 2003 playoffs. This time, Giguere could skate off with the Stanley Cup and perhaps the Conn Smythe Trophy, too. But…”

DUCKS’ BEAUCHEMIN DELIVERS WHEN NEEDED
Larry Wigge writes on NHL.COM, “Francois Beauchemin has proved that he is more than just an afterthought from the 2005 blockbuster deal that involved (Sergei) Fedorov. Now, when the 6-foot, 210-pound Beauchemin looks to his right he usually sees Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Scott Niedermayer. Not bad for a guy who was cut by Montreal, trimmed by Columbus and scratched from the lineup when he first arrived in Anaheim. ‘I’ve surprised myself, actually,’ said Beauchemin. ‘So I must have surprised somebody else, too.’ Despite the prevailing out-of-nowhere implications, Beauchemin was on the Ducks’ radar before the deal was consummated.”

QUICK HITS
– Terry Frei profiles Ducks GM Brian Burke.
– Scotty Bowman on the challenges the Ducks face in Game 5.
– Jeremy Rutherford catches up with Blues prospect Erik Johnson.
– Shelly Anderson on the film “Mind-Body-Mask“, which profiles Bruins prospect Jordan Sigalet’s battle with MS.

MULTIMEDIA
View SI.Com’s photo gallery from the first four Stanley Cup games.

COVER UP FOR THE DRAFT
To assist your coverage of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, the NHL PR department has prepared profiles and video features for the top-ranked prospects. These profiles are located under the “Latest News” section of the NHL’s media site.
– View the profile and video feature for London Knights forward Sam Gagner.
– 2007 NHL Entry Draft Celebration to offer a wide range entertainment to the Columbus community.
– John Meagher profiles draft prospect Angelo Esposito.

FROM THE BUSINESS DESK
In a first for all major professional sports leagues, the National Hockey League is partnering with Sling Media, Inc. around the company’s upcoming Clip+Sling technology. The NHL and Sling Media have signed an agreement whereby Sling Media’s Clip+Sling technology will enable all current and future Slingbox customers to clip and share live or recorded segments of NHL programming online with friends, family and others.

NHL AFTERNOON VIDEO THEATRE
Watch the top five plays from Game 4, featuring a goal by the Ducks’ Andy McDonald.

Final score: 3 2

Anaheim leads series 3-1. 

No Chris Pronger. No problem for the Ducks who are now just one win away from their first ever Stanley Cup.

For the second consecutive round in a crucial game, it didn’t seem to matter that one of the team’s top defensemen wasn’t in the lineup due to a one-game suspension for a cheap unpenalized hit- this time an undetected elbow which concussed Dean McAmmond forcing him to also miss tonight’s game.

That’s because Pronger’s teammates picked him up to silence a boisterous Scotiabank Place who was anticipating a tie series heading back to Anaheim. Instead, Randy Carlyle’s determined club improved to 2-0 without the former Hart/Norris winner by rebounding from a dreadful opening period in which they were outshot 13-2 to pull out the huge victory.

They can thank their goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere for keeping them alive after the first 20 minutes. Aside from giving up a last second power play goal to Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson on what was a brutal goalie interference call against Ryan Getzlaf, the 2003 Conn Smythe winner stood tall as his team struggled from the outset to stay out of the box by taking consecutive penalties. He made big save after big save to keep Ottawa off the scoreboard, allowing his teammates to gain confidence and find their game.

Giggy’s best stop was a flat out robbery of Dany Heatley point blank on a Jason Spezza feed. He supplied that kind of clutch goaltending when his team needed it.

Make no mistake about it. Bryan Murray’s club was ready to play and came out like a house on fire ready to pounce but the play of Giguere (12 first period saves) kept them off the scoreboard for the first 19:59 of the stanza. That’s when Getzlaf went to the box for a dubious penalty drawn by Ray Emery, who not only was outside the crease much like the Devils’ Martin Brodeur two rounds earlier on a deciding goal but embellished it by falling to the ice. It was the second dive by a Senator that period. On the game’s first shift, enforcer Chris Neil flopped to the ice on a Francois Beauchemin tap to draw a slashing call. Neil was public enemy No.1 due to an unpenalized high hit on Andy McDonald which Ducks’ GM Brian Burke claimed was every bit as dangerous as Pronger’s blow. He had a point.

In any event, getting back to the Getzlaf penalty which should really have been the Sens’ second unsportsmanlike conduct minor of the period as NBC’s Ray Ferraro and Brett Hull later confirmed, wound up costing Anaheim. Mike Fisher worked the puck down low to Peter Schaefer with seconds to go. Behind the net, Schaefer quickly centered for a cutting Alfredsson, who one-timed one past Giguere into the top portion of the net with one tick left sending the capacity crowd into a frenzy.

Afterwards, an aggravated Getzlaf expressed his disgust to Pierre McGuire about the call before promising that his team would play well. Did they ever. They outscored the Sens 3-1 and outshot them 19-10 the rest of the way including 13-4 in the turning middle period. One which baffled us.

Where did Ottawa’s game go? Who knows? But they weren’t the same team and paid the price. The Ducks began to get their aggressive forecheck going and drew two power plays. But that was the one aspect of their game which wasn’t working. They went 0-for-3 with no shots for the night.

They might not have come close to scoring on one but right after their second was killed, top center Andy McDonald took a Todd Marchant feed in front and calmly beat Emery with a deke to tie it at 10:06. It was the start of a big game for McDonald, who finished with two goals and an assist factoring in on all three of his team’s goals.

The very next shift, he struck again on a beautiful end-to-end rush finishing it off by deking both Anton Volchenkov and Emery before tucking a backhand in to suddenly put his team up just a minute later. This was just a great goal by a very skilled player. He took a pass from Rob Niedermayer and then flew down the ice before notching his second of the night and ninth (third in last two games). How often do you see Volchenkov out of position? He’s been the best defensemen this postseason. He went down to try to block the shot but McDonald was patient enough to outwait him before beating Emery for a crushing goal to silence the Ottawa fans.

Most of the period, the Sens had nothing going for them. Unable to generate much, they struggled. In particular Anaheim captain Scott Niedermayer distinguished himself by playing extremely well defensively to anchor the blueline without Pronger. There’s a reason he’s won three Cups and a Norris and it was on display tonight.

If not for a gigantic glove save by Emery on Beauchemin off a three-on-two rush, it would’ve been 3-1 with under four minutes left. Rob Niedermayer made a perfect cross ice pass to Beauchemin, who had a lot of net to work with but the athletic Ottawa netminder somehow got his glove across to rob him leading to a well deserved loud ovation. If there was a player who deserved a better fate, it was Emery. None of the three goals were his fault and he made some huge stops to give his team a chance.
Receiving a lift from the big save as Doc Emrick accurately pointed out, the Sens finally showed some life to tie the game with two minutes remaining. That it came off the stick of Heatley was a great sign. With Murray switching his lines putting Alfredsson on Fisher’s line and subbing Patrick Eaves on Spezza’s, the strategy paid dividends on the tying goal. After getting a quick pass from Spezza at the side of the net, Eaves quickly found a wide open Heatley for a slam dunk for his first of the series. It was a terrific play by a player who replaced McAmmond.

The big play allowed them to escape tied after two but not before controversy involving Alfredsson. With the period coming to a close, he began to wind up for a final shot but as he turned his head, delayed and then fired the puck directly at Scott Niedermayer. Why he did it was uncertain. However, it was a gutless move by the Ottawa leader which only served to fire up their opponents who immediately came to their captain’s aid leading to a scrum with matching roughing minors being handed out to Fisher and Sami Pahlsson.

The officials couldn’t determine if it was intentional or not. So no penalty was given to Alfredsson. However, it sure looked like it on replays. Even HNIC’s Don Cherry who was an entertaining special guest during the second intermission with Hull and Bill Clement termed it “idiotic.”

There’s really not more that could be said. Could Alfredsson be suspended for Game 5? We’ll see.

The Sens had an early PP opportunity when Beauchemin went to the box giving them a 4-on-3. But they couldn’t capitalize. It would turn out to be their last really big opportunity to go ahead again.

Shortly after, another play started by McDonald resulted in the deciding goal by rookie Dustin Penner. He got the puck to Teemu Selanne, who then was somehow allowed to skate right through before finding Penner in front for his third. Why was he left uncovered? Because of an absolutely awful read by Wade Redden. He didn’t even bother to pickup Penner which led directly to the winner with 15:53 left.
All series, the Ottawa defenseman has struggled getting victimized on quite a few goals against. He’s yet to shed that soft label. Unless his team has a miraculous comeback from 3-1 down, Redden might be looked at as one of the goats in why a Canadian team once again might fall short in delivering the first Cup to the hockey starved country in 14 years.

The Sens and Ducks each managed six shots but only Anaheim got a primary scoring chance. If not for another brilliant glove save by Emery on Penner, the game would’ve been out of reach. He at least allowed his team one last chance to pull him for an extra attacker in the final 80-plus seconds to try to get it tied.

Ottawa though was only able to get one quality opportunity. With exactly a minute to go, Andrej Meszaros one-timed a slapper through traffic but Giguere still got it and didn’t allow a rebound.

As it turned out, that was it because Scott Niedermayer and his defensive teammates like his younger brother, Pahlsson and Travis Moen wouldn’t allow the Sens to recover the puck and get the shot they needed. Instead, the Ducks got a couple of clears and made life easier to finish off a well earned victory.

They’re now one game away. Game Five is back at The Pond Wednesday night.

Some quick hits:

1.Aside from no Pronger, the Ducks were without Chris Kunitz who sat out with an injury. Brad May was an unsung hero in this game drawing a penalty and also creating space for one of McDonald’s goals. The ex-Sabre logged 16 shifts (8:53 TOI), threw two hits and finished plus-one.

2.With Pronger out, Scott Niedermayer took 34 shifts (29:23) finishing minus-one with two blocked shots and two takeaways. Though he was on for a goal against, it wasn’t his fault as Getzlaf didn’t pickup Heatley late in the second. Aside from Niedermayer, Beauchemin saw extensive time getting a game high 31:40 and finishing plus-two. Though he struggled in the first, he picked up his game and was a factor, getting three shots, registering two hits, two takeaways and two blocked shots. He was a workhorse.

3.Heatley was much better in this game for Ottawa. Aside from scoring his first goal of the series, he registered a game high six shots along with three hits. He was dangerous most of the contest and easily could’ve had a hat trick if not for Giguere.

4.While Heatley showed up, Spezza again fizzled getting only one shot through. While he did have a secondary assist, the top pivot just didn’t do enough to make a difference. Especially considering the 22:07 he logged. When lesser skilled teammates such as Fisher and Schaefer do more on their shifts, that’s not a ringing endorsement.

5.Sean O’Donnell was solid in this game for Anaheim as well getting 31 shifts (23:54) while not making any glaring mistakes. The vet definitely did his part to give Anaheim a boost.

6.Both teams had plenty of hits in this one as they combined for 61 with the Ducks holding a 31-30 edge. They were paced by who else but the reliable two-way shutdown center Pahlsson, who registered five. At least four Ducks had three hits. Meanwhile, the Sens were led by the gritty Fisher, who had a game high nine. Teammates Volchenkov and Christoph Schubert chipped in with four apiece.

7.If Neil had a great Game 3, he didn’t distinguish himself tonight. Though the frequent Anaheim target drew two penalties, he only was credited with one hit in 20 shifts (10:02) and was on the ice for two goals against along with linemates Antoine Vermette and Chris Kelly. They finished a combined minus-six.

8.The reliable tandem of Volchenkov and Chris Phillips also had a rough night finishing minus-four. When he was beaten on McDonald’s second, Volchenkov slammed his stick in frustration. The sad aspect was that he was one of the few who competed.

9.Each team finished with 13 blocked shots. Beauchemin led the Ducks with three while Volchenkov and Meszaros also had three each.

10.For the first time in the series, Ottawa won the faceoff battle 33-32. Their best was who else but Fisher, who won 11-of-19 draws. Why he wasn’t out there for a couple of critical faceoffs in the final minute is beyond us. It didn’t make much sense. Meanwhile, Getzlaf paced the Ducks by going 10-for-17. Pahlsson was .500 (12-12).

11.The Ducks are aiming to become the first NHL team from California to hoist the Stanley Cup. They’ll have three chances with two on home ice.

12.The Sens are in a hole but know it can happen. A year ago, another Canadian team was in the same exact deficit but Edmonton rallied to win the next two games before falling in Game Seven to Carolina. We’ll see what they’re made of Wednesday night.

Our three stars:

3rd star- Mike Fisher (assist, 2 SOG, nine hits, 11-8 on draws in 28 shifts)
2nd star- Dustin Penner (GW goal, 3 SOG, two hits, +1 rating in 13:52)
1st star- Andy McDonald (2 goals, assist, 3 SOG, +3 in 16:55)

Much like Al Pacino’s devious John Milton character says near the conclusion of Devil’s Advocate to the successful attorney Kevin Lomax played by Keanu Reeves, “Nobody wins’em all. You’re luck had to run out some time.”

It also applies to sports or in this case former Baby Bomber Mitch Hilligoss. The former NY-Penn League All Star who helped lead Staten Island to back-to-back championships saw his South Atlantic League record 38-game hitting streak finally end in a 3-2 loss Sunday at Savannah. It was the longest hit streak in the minors the past 20 years with Mitch surpassing former major league utilityman Joey Cora’s Pacific Coast League mark of 37 straight.
The third baseman was hitless in four plate appearances. Despite that, he still had a hand in both Riverdog runs by walking and coming around to score in the first and driving in a run in the ninth on a groundout to second for RBI No.24.

The 21 year-old former Purdue All Big Ten standout still stands at .326 in the South Atlantic League, ranking among the league leaders. He entered yesterday sixth in hitting. In fact, his 70 hits paced the league before Sunday’s games.

Not bad progression for the second-year pro who’s seen his name skyrocket on some prospect lists which included current rankings from last year’s draft.

Hopefully, Mitch will continue to turn heads and earn a promotion to the Yankees’ highest A affiliate Tampa where he can get reacquainted with All Star teammates Francisco Cervelli and George Kontos.

We’ll see. For now, you have to be excited about what he’s accomplished. As for who he was chasing in terms of the longest minor league hitting streak. None other than the legendary Yankee Clipper Joe DiMaggio, who put together an impressive 63 game stretch for San Francisco before later establishing a major league record 56 in 1941.

Not a bad Yankee to finish second to.

With the 2007 Staten Island Yankee season less than three weeks away, we’ll be providing more updates on former players in the coming days. Keep an open eye out for it.

Rookie Daniel Gibson poured 25 of his career high 31 in a splendid second half including a perfect five-of-five from downtown to help LeBron James (20, 14 and and Co. take their fourth straight from the Pistons to win the Eastern Conference.

We’ll have much more later today on the Cavs’ 98-82 Game Six home win in front of a pumped up crowd to make their first ever NBA Finals where the three-time champion Spurs await.

It’s a day later and the Cavaliers have a lot to be proud about. The way they cameback and defeated a veteran-laden Detroit club who had been through the playoff grind and pulled out an exact series like this last year. But this time, the younger Cavs didn’t allow the Pistons to come into their house and force a deciding Game 7 at the Palace.

Maybe last year’s experience of losing a hard fought seven-game series to them helped LeBron and teammates in closing this year’s ECF out to win the conference for the first time in franchise history. Also having a chance to reach the NBA Finals gave them plenty of extra incentive to deliver for their fans who have waited patiently. They went through some tough years before LeBron was delivered to them. And after having their hearts broken by Michael Jordan and the Bulls, it had to be especially hardening.

Between the Cavs, Indians and Browns, the city of Cleveland hasn’t seen a team win a championship in 43 years when the Browns won the NFL title back in 1964. The Indians came close to finally winning their first World Series since 1948 twice a decade prior but fell to Atlanta in 1995 and Florida two years later. Hopefully, their NBA team can go one better and pull a huge upset.
Now, their team gets a shot at the NBA’s best in San Antonio. A team who will be aiming for their fourth NBA title and third in six years with the terrific trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. A modern day dynasty in the making if Gregg Popovich’s club can win another.
The good news for Mike Brown’s Cavs is that they’ll have a few days to prepare for Game One which is set for Thursday night in San Antonio at 9 ET/6 PT on ABC. This will give the ex-assistant under Popovich some time to prepare his team for San Antonio’s defensive oriented halfcourt game. What should be most encouraging is they just got through a similar team. The only difference is the Spurs don’t just go through the motions during stretches of games. So the task should prove to be much more difficult.

What they’ll take with them is what NBA legend and 11-time champion and Hall of Famer Bill Russell said to LeBron as he presented them with the Eastern Conference trophy:

“You’re not only representing the city of Cleveland but also the Eastern Conference. Make me proud”

And like Brown told TNT’s Ernie Johnson during the on-court postgame celebration, “We’re in it to win it.”

If they can’t draw motivation from that to give the Spurs all they can handle, then San Antonio’s just too good. We’ll see. One interesting note is that the Cavs swept their worthy opponents during the regular season series. Not that that means anything now because the Spurs know how to turn it up and have looked like a well oiled machine in dispatching of the Nuggets in 5, Suns in 6 and Jazz in 5. They’ll take a 12-4 record into this match-up while the Cavaliers got here by sweeping the Wizards and beating the Nets and Pistons in 6 to post a 12-5 mark.

So can Cleveland do better than our five-game San Antonio prediction? Why the heck not? We’ve gotten everything else wrong.

How was I supposed to know that Dallas would roll over against Golden State? At least the Pistons got to the Conference Finals. I also had the Cavs losing to Toronto in the Conference Semis. They would’ve had to have gotten there in order for that to have happened. I’ll bet the Pistons wish they did.

The one thing the Cavs have which should help in this match-up is size. The trio of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Drew Gooden and Anderson Varejao all are formidable inside and can crash the glass. Combine that with the versatile 22 year-old superstar James and they have enough athleticism to counter Duncan and Fabricio Oberto underneath.

The time off should help guard Larry Hughes recover from his injury. He was more effective Saturday night playing 28 minutes and scoring nine including two open treys along with four assists and three rebounds. Expect him to draw the tough assignment of the ultra quick Parker.

Obviously, they’ll be looking for their emerging rookie Gibson to continue his clutch shooting which destroyed the Pistons. The ex-Texas standout who was selected in last year’s second round scored 19 of Cleveland’s 31 in the final quarter as they outscored Detroit by 15 to put a close game away.

All five of his three’s were wide open due to Detroit predictably giving all sorts of attention to LeBron after his Game 5 heroics. This left Gibson and other teammates wide open and also opened up the lane where he went 12-for-15 to go with a crisp seven-of-nine from the floor.

Meanwhile, James who only attempted two field goals in the first half (career playoff low) was still able to get to the rim and even converted a driving layup in transition as part of a three-point play during the Cavs’ fourth quarter run when they put it away. He only made three buckets but got to the line 19 times converting on 14 of them for 20 points. Adding a game high 14 boards and eight assists plus three steals, it was plenty on what was a special night.

James’ reaction:

“This is like a dream. This is probably the best feeling that I’ve ever had in my life. … This is the best thing that ever happened to me, man. But look here, look here. It doesn’t stop.”

With a wide eyed ear to ear grin, who could blame him? He took a lot of heat early in the series for passing up a potential winning shot in Game 1 and not scoring enough in Game 2. But the superstar never let the frustration show instead opting to say that they were a “no excuse team” after not getting a late call which made it identical 79-76 defeats. Instead, he rose up for a big 32 in Game 3 and continued to dominate the way a player of his calibre should meeting every challenge. Nobody will ever forget that unbelievable Game 5 performance in which he carried his team on his back scoring an NBA playoff record 25 straight and 29 of the final 30 to pull out that game in two overtimes. It was truly a special game by a star who wanted it badly.

As it turned out, that was the one which broke Detroit’s back. Sure. They were right there for three quarters in Game Six. But you just never got the feeling they’d ever get that game against an inspired Cavs’ team in that environment. Gibson would allow it and neither would all those screaming fans.

As was said here in this space last week and repeated again last night by Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Reggie Miller, the Pistons were outplayed the whole series and very easily could’ve been swept. They were beaten by a younger and hungrier team. End of story.

Chauncey Billups struggled throughout this series. Despite making a few big shots late in games, the former 2004 Finals MVP never got into a rhythm. This was due in large part to Hughes and an aggressive Cleveland D which made it difficult for the Pistons’ floor leader to get to the basket. Maybe it was fitting that in 43 minutes, the guard whose status is up in the air this summer only scored nine points on just seven shots and handed out one assist. That’s how tough this series was on him.

The only player who really showed up last night was Richard Hamilton, who finished with 29 on an efficient 10-of-20 from the field and a perfect eight-for-eight from the charity stripe. The ex-Uconn star also added four rebounds, three assists and three steals doing a little bit of everything to keep his team competitive in 36 minutes.

Ticking time bomb Rasheed Wallace finally lost it midway through the fourth quarter after fouling out. The always emotional big man finally snapped and got t’d up twice and ejected. It was a symbol of Detroit’s frustration. It was two games earlier where he took off his No.36 jersey and tossed it over his head in disgust accidentally landing in someone’s face like a towel after Cleveland had rallied to tie the series at two apiece.

Wallace definitely cares. But too often he allows the officials’ calls to get to him and it sometimes takes a very talented player out of the game. Eleven points, two rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes wasn’t enough from the center who also may or may not return to Detroit.

The Cavs became only the third team to rally from an 0-2 deficit to win a series in the Conference Finals joining the 1971 Baltimore Bullets and 1993 Chicago Bulls, who both accomplished it against the Knicks.

They’ll now try to deliver the first ever NBA championship to Cleveland. Best of luck!

Final score: 3 5

Anaheim leads series 2-1.

If you tuned into this game on NBC, then you know how exciting it was to watch. Badly needing a compelling game which could help give this Cup Final a boost, that’s exactly what the league got last night up in Kanata, Ontario in a topsy turvy seesaw affair which a desperate Sens’ team cameback to pull out by scoring the last three in their two-goal Game 3 victory to get within a game of squaring the series.

It didn’t come easy for Bryan Murray’s club, who battled back three different times from one-goal deficits before taking control the final 24-plus minutes after Daniel Alfredsson’s mysterious deflection off his skate which was ruled “no goal” on the ice was overturned for a key power play goal which tied it 3-3 at 16:14 of the second.

Trailing by one after Ryan Getzlaf’s rebound of a Dustin Penner rebound less than nine minutes prior, the Sens drew consecutive power plays against Anaheim and caught a huge break on their team captain’s first goal of the series. The play from the outset was odd as Wade Redden’s left point shot went off Scott Niedermayer’s stick right to Alfredsson who had the puck go off his left skate with it in motion towards the net. Referee Dan O’Halloran was animate that it wasn’t a goal which meant any video review would have to conclusively prove otherwise to reverse his call.

It’s really hard to buy it because as the NBC tandem of Ray Ferraro and Brett Hull (who knows about controversies and benefited from one ironically enough) referenced, the Rangers’ Karel Rachunek had a similar goal wiped out against Buffalo in Game 3 of the EC Semis. What’s even more amazing is that that was ruled a goal on ice and looked a lot less like a distinct kicking motion than what we witnessed Saturday night.

Where’s the consistency? That’s the biggest problem with the NHL. As Ferraro accurately pointed out, that’s what makes the rule so confusing. The players just don’t know.

When does it get fixed? Maybe after the officials remember that cheap hits like the one Chris Pronger put on Dean McAmmond aren’t supposed to be part of the game. Especially blatant elbows which knock out players and could have caused a concussion. Fortunately for his team, the ex-Devils property was okay.

That’s also the same Pronger who got suspended a game against Detroit for a hit from behind on Tomas Holmstrom in which he and teammate Rob Niedermayer boarded the winger with Niedermayer getting a major while the defenseman received zilch. So, will the league have the audacity to suspend Pronger for Game 4? I doubt it.

It was all the more fitting that McAmmond wound up getting the winner late in the second. The former Devil property (played for Albany during lockout season in ‘04-05) took an Oleg Saprykin feed along the wall and centered for a cutting Christoph Schubert in front. The puck went off Chris Pronger’s stick and in to give Ottawa its first lead with 1:26 remaining.

Ottawa carried the momentum into the final stanza and outshot Anaheim 7-3, outplaying by a wide margin. Continuing to take the play to the Ducks with a more aggressive forecheck down low, they would get a huge insurance tally from blocked shot machine Anton Volchenkov. Chris Kelly (2 assists) worked the puck to Antoine Vermette behind the net, who then centered for a cutting Volchenkov, who in turn buried the big goal at 8:22 sending the Senator sea of red into a frenzy.
They would never look back.

A little earlier, Ray Emery made his biggest stop of the night by diving across to rob Todd Marchant on a shorthanded breakaway. Though the second-year netminder only made 19 saves and gave up two so/so goals, it was a clutch save which allowed his team to have confidence.

They now know they can compete with the Ducks in this series and engage them in the corners. If Game 4 is anything like Saturday’s, it should be a barn burner.

When you have players going at it after whistles (Mike Fisher on Getzlaf and Jason Spezza and Sami Pahlsson plus Chris Neil ready for any challenge) and mixing it up, it makes for an even more intriguing series. The intensity was definitely ratcheted up by the Sens who drew on their capacity crowd’s energy to fight back and show plenty of resiliency in sticking with the gameplan to get the ‘W.’

Now Monday becomes big!

A few quick hits:

1.Spezza did compete better tonight as pointed out by NBC reporter Pierre McGuire but no points and no shots won’t get it done the rest of this series. He and Dany Heatley were both shutout in this game. They can’t rely on the secondary scoring. Tonight, they came through and picked them up.

2.Fisher was great in this game. He won’t get a star but he really was the player who sparked his club with an inspired shift along with linemate Peter Schaefer to change the momentum in the first and lead to Neil’s tying goal. Every one of his 22 shifts (17:40 TOI), something seemed to be happening. Whether it was one of the underrated two-way pivot’s game high five hits or some great cycling and competitiveness along the wall, he really played big tonight. That’s why it’s not a surprise he got rewarded for his hard work by redirecting a Volchenkov point shot for Ottawa’s second goal 27 seconds after Corey Perry scored. He played big tonight.

3.How weird was the night for Spezza? At one point, after he and Pahlsson went to the box for matching roughing minors, the top line center had to wear scratched teammate Patrick Eaves’ No.44 jersey for a shift out of the box due to his No.19 jersey getting torn. The bizarre shift made commentators Doc Emrick and Ed Olczyk ponder if they’ve ever seen that happen before. Our guess is no.

Speaking of odd, how else would you explain Getzlaf forgetting to be out there for a draw which made it 4-on-5 at even strength and led directly to Fisher’s tying goal?
4.Showing an improvement in physicality, the Sens won the hitting battle 32-26 with Fisher and Neil each paving the way with five thumping bone crushers including a beauty by the Ottawa enforcer on Sean O’Donnell. Neil also was a big factor in this one. Aside from tallying his second of the postseason, he was all over the ice earning extra ice-time (10:39). His positive energy rubbed off on teammates.
5.While they might’ve fallen short on the scoreboard, the young trio of Penner, Getzlaf and Perry played a terrific game- combining for both Ducks second period tallies and six points. All three were very active on their shifts and created havoc. In particular, Getzlaf and Perry were dominant at times looking every bit like future stars.
6.In his first game back from a broken bone in his right hand, Chris Kunitz took just 10 shifts (4:13) before leaving the game and not returning. His status won’t be known for Monday probably until either later today or tomorrow.

7.Key stat of the night had Ottawa on the plus/side in the takeaway/giveaway column where they struggled the first two games out West.

Takeaways/Giveaways

Ana- 7/17     -10
Ott- 16/14     +2

8.Another significant change: Ottawa outshot the Ducks 29-22 tonight and registered 22 shots thru the first 40 as compared to only 16 total in their Game 2 shutout loss.

Sens’ Shot comparison:

Games 1-2: 36

Game 3:      29 

Note: The Sens also missed three more shots (11-8) than Anaheim while they blocked one more (9-8) than their opponents.

9.One area the Ducks continued to excel at was faceoffs. They went 38-for-63 (60 percent) in the faceoff circle with first period goalscorer Andy McDonald winning 10-of-11 draws.  Pahlsson meanwhile finished 12-for-26 while no Sen finished over .500 with Vermette going 9-for-19 while Spezza improved to a respectable 9-for-21.

10.Art Ross winner Sidney Crosby appeared during the first intermission. The Pen sensation became the youngest NHL captain last week when the team gave him the ‘C.’ HNIC’s Don Cherry will make his NBC debut Monday night. Don’t miss it!

Our three stars:

3rd star- Ryan Getzlaf (goal, assist in 18:19)
2nd star- Anton Volchenkov (goal, assist, 5 SOG, 3 hits, 2 blocked shots in 26:22)
1st star-  Chris Neil (goal, five hits, +1 rating in 17 shifts)

Things just continue looking skyward for the Anaheim Ducks. Already up 2-0 in their best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final series against the Ottawa Senators, they’ll most likely get back left wing Chris Kunitz for tonight’s Game Three set for 8 ET/5 PT on NBC when the series shifts to Scotiabank Place.

The undrafted 26 year-old out of Saskatchewan was cleared to play by the team doctor just three weeks after breaking a bone in his right hand. A solid skating two-way player who complements the top line of Andy McDonald and Teemu Selanne well, Kunitz would be a huge addition to the Ducks if he returns tonight. That decision will be made by Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle after warm-ups.

Considering the big stage, expect the gritty underrated forward to suit up as his team tries to put a stranglehold on this series and pull within a game of the franchise’s first Stanley Cup.

In 11 games this postseason before the injury, he had a goal and five assists for six points. After injuring it in Game One of the Western Conference Final against Detroit, it was expected that he’d miss the rest of the postseason. Instead, Kunitz should be back which can’t hurt Anaheim’s chances.

If you’re the Sens, it’s just one more thing you have to overcome aside from the 0-2 deficit they find themselves in. History hasn’t been too kind to teams in this predicament. Only once in 30 tries has a team rallied from that hole after dropping the first two games on the road.

One thing they’ll need is better production from the top line trio of team captain Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley. They’ve been shutdown at even strength by the Anaheim checking line centered by Selke candidate Sami Pahlsson. Aside from being neutralized, they’ve also gotten outplayed by Pahlsson and linemates Rob Niedermayer (can’t help but wonder how Devil fans feel seeing him outplay his brother) and Travis Moen (former Hawk which just goes to show why they’re the Hawks).

They’ve been guilty of turning over the puck and also gotten victimized twice for deciding goals late in the third period which can’t happen tonight. Spezza must be sharper in all facets. He makes that line go. This means crisper passes and smarter decisions with the puck. It wouldn’t hurt to win a few faceoffs either. He took it on the chin the other night losing 11 of 14.

So, can Ottawa bounceback here? The NHL is praying for it. Not only because the game is on NBC in primetime and probably won’t draw well but because they badly need it for what’s been an uneventful postseason. There haven’t been many compelling series. Outside of Vancouver’s seven game first round win over Dallas where sudden death was needed for a few contests with a couple of late conclusions, no other series has gone the distance.

The league could use a seven game series for the fourth consecutive Cup Final. Not only because of how the postseason has evolved but just to generate some interest from other cities. It was reported in an AP article earlier today that a majority of American media outlets aren’t sending reporters to cover the Final which is almost unheard of considering how big a sporting event it is. Looks like that lockout hasn’t exactly worked out the way Gary Bettman envisioned.

Only nine of 21 U.S. markets are covering it live. Translation: Uh oh.

Other markets are taking full advantage of a new telecommunication system the NHL has made available. Instead of coughing up the dough for cross journey flights, they’re using the resources made available for staff stories including press conferences by telephone. The league PR staff has also been emailing out transcribed quotes.

They certainly need all the press they can get. So it can’t hurt. It’s a desperate situation.

One thing which hurts the NHL is their idiotic 2-2-1-1-1 format. Who the heck wants to commit to all that travel if it goes seven? I recall an angry co-worker at my old job a few years ago who hated the fact Calgary lost to Tampa on Martin St. Louis’ Game Six OT winner which forced a deciding Game Seven all the way back on the East coast. One could certainly understand why. That kind of travel can be draining.

I believe it’s high time the league adopts the NBA Final more friendly format of 2-3-2. Why the heck not? Bettman has copies virtually everything else from his former boss David Stern since coming over to run the NHL. Hence the geographic names to the divisions dictated by location and expansion instead of sticking with tradition.

So what’s one more thing anyway? Better this than the league turning its collective back on the hardcore fan by adopting shootouts in future playoff games which exceed one overtime.

Don’t think it can happen? Anything’s possible. That’s where it’s at.

With an extra day off before they host Game 3, the Senators are looking to respond from the 0-2 hole they find themselves in against the Ducks. They can take solace knowing that it can be done. Anaheim won the next two against the Devils four years ago in a seven-game series in which the home team won every game.

In order for Ottawa to bounceback, they’ll need a much better game from the top line of Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley.

Here were today’s key articles and info as the series shifts to NBC tomorrow night:

TOMORROW’S SCHEDULE (all times ET)
Ducks at Senators, 8 p.m. on NBC, CBC, RDS, NHL RADIO

DON CHERRY TO MAKE U.S. TELEVISION DEBUT FOR GAME 4
NBC Sports travels north of the border to Ottawa to drop the puck on its Stanley Cup Final coverage Saturday at 8 p.m. ET with Game 3 of the series between the Anaheim Ducks and the Ottawa Senators, presented in high definition. NBC is broadcasting Games 3-7 of the Final in primetime. Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk and Pierre McGuire call the action.

The NHL on NBC studio show will originate from the game sites and feature analysis from the NHL on NBC studio team of Bill Clement, Ray Ferraro and the outspoken Brett Hull. The crew will be joined on NBC for Game 4 by CBC’s Don Cherry. The pre-game show will be simulcast on NBCSports.com and fans can return to NBCSports.com for a complete post-game report.

2007 STANLEY CUP INFORMATION
– Stanley Cup Final media events.
– Stanley Cup Final schedule.

THE TOP STORIES

PAHLSSON A BIG PIECE OF THE PUZZLE
Terry Frei writes in the DENVER POST, “The way (Sami) Pahlsson is playing against the Ottawa Senators, stepping out of the relative shadows as one of the top defensive forwards in the NHL, to a higher-profile role on a possible Stanley Cup champion, he could be on the way to being the much-chronicled toast of Sweden in the offseason. Yes, ‘Sami’ Pahlsson. Not Peter Forsberg. Not Vancouver’s Markus Naslund and the Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik. Not Detroit defenseman Nick Lidstrom. And perhaps not even Daniel Alfredsson, the Senators’ veteran captain seeking to be able to be the first player to hoist the Cup overhead after the final game of this series.”

SENATORS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MATCHUPS
Sherry Ross writes in the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, “It won’t take long for the Ducks to realize they’re not in Disneyland anymore. Not only does every other passenger car seem to have a Senators flag flapping from one or more windows, but seemingly normal Canadian citizens are walking around in face paint and team tattoos - in broad daylight, miles and days away from tomorrow night’s Game 3 at Scotiabank Place. Home ice means more than sleeping in your own bed and having your crazy fans drown out the national anthems. For the Senators, it may mean a last chance to get back into this Stanley Cup Final series, or face an all-but-insurmountable 0-3 series deficit. The home team gets the last line change, which for these Sens could prove to be a lifesaver. Having the last change will mean Ottawa coach Bryan Murray will be able to force his opposite number Randy Carlyle’s hand.”

FAR FROM DOWN AND OUT
Chris Stevenson writes in the OTTAWA SUN, “History and Samuel Pahlsson are against them. It’s only been done once, losing the first two games of the Stanley Cup final on the road and then coming back to win. That was 36 years ago when the Montreal Canadiens lost the first two games in Chicago and came back to beat the Blackhawks in seven games. The Senators can’t do anything about history nor, it seems, about Pahlsson and the way the Ducks’ outstanding defensive forward and his linemates have shut down the Senators’ big line and found time to score both game-winning goals in Anaheim.”

YOUNG MAN AND THE ‘C’
Rob Rossi writes in the PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, “Upon taking over as coach Dec. 15, 2005, Michel Therrien knew where the Penguins were ultimately going—wherever Sidney Crosby would take them. As one of his first official acts, Therrien made Crosby, then an 18-year-old rookie, an alternate captain. ‘The plan was to groom him,’ Therrien said. ‘It was a big plan at the time.’ Therrien’s grand plan to have his club’s best player gradually grow into the role of its unquestioned leader came to fruition Thursday when Crosby accepted the Penguins’ captaincy.”

NHL ENTRENCHED IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Vito Piliece writes in the OTTAWA CITIZEN, “While the Senators battle for the Stanley Cup in Anaheim, California, or here in Ottawa, broadcasts of the games, highlights and analysis are available to viewers at the click of a mouse anywhere in the world. In the past five months, more than 14 million viewers have accessed the NHL’s content on YouTube. Thousands of users of the MySpace social networking site have included the NHL as one of their ‘friends,’ and regularly visit the league’s page to watch video highlights and clips. Replays of games are available on Apple Inc.’s iTunes store and through Amazon.com’s Unbox portable video service, allowing fans to download highlights or entire games for as little as $4.99 U.S. and take their hockey with them. Further, thanks to the digital offerings, traffic to the NHL’s own webpage, www.nhl.com, was up by more than 62 per cent last month.”

QUICK HITS
– Michael Russo profiles Senators defenseman Tom Preissing.
– Larry Wigge looks at the impact the ‘03 draft is having on the Stanley Cup Final.
– Bruce Deachman on the Stanley Cup’s tales from the road.
– Michael Traikos on Canadiens goaltending prospect Carey Price.

COVER UP FOR THE DRAFT
To assist your coverage of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, the NHL PR department has prepared profiles and video features for the top-ranked prospects. These profiles are located under the “Latest News” section of the NHL’s media site.
– View the profile and video feature for James vanRiemsdyk.
– TSN.CA looks at the prospects arriving for the NHL Draft Combine.
– Kevin Allen on the options the Blackhawks will have at the draft.
– Terry Jones on Keaton Ellerby.

2007 STANLEY CUP FINAL IMAGES NOW AVAILABLE ON IMAGE.NET
Among the many fans at this year’s Stanley Cup Final games between the Anaheim Ducks and the Ottawa Senators are some of the biggest names in television, movies and music, including Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Snoop Dogg, Jerry Bruckheimer, Cuba Gooding Jr., James Caan, Ray Liotta, Jerry O’Connell, Josh Lucas and Masi Oka. Visit image.net for photos of celebrities in attendance at each game of the Finals. All photos on Image.net are available for editorial use only and at no cost to media outlets.